Jayme-Leigh Kemmish from Hythe handed suspended jail sentence for sending sexual messages in undercover police sting

A Waterside man who believed he was talking to a 13-year-old girl online was arrested in a police sting, a court heard.

Jayme-Leigh Kemmish (28), of The Marsh in Hythe, had befriended the youngster on messaging site Kick.

Southampton Crown Court heard how unbeknown to Kemmish, he was in fact messaging an undercover police officer.

The offences took place in February 2020, prosecutor Tom Wilkins told the court, with the messages “very quickly” becoming sexual.

Kemmish told the girl he wanted to meet and for her to become his girlfriend.

Officers arrived at his home and it “became clear” he was trying to conceal a mobile phone.

He was arrested, and in interview admitted the messages had been sent from his account, but said he had no recollection of doing so.

He pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to one count of sexual communication with a child.

Defending, Jodie Mittell said the case was now “very old” and with the exception of a reprimand at the age of 12 for a case of “egging”, he had never been in trouble.

“He has been very affected by the the court proceedings and it has been a huge learning curve for him,” she added.

Sentencing him to a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, Judge Gary Burrell told him: “If you do anything like this again, you will go to prison.”